PAID WORKSHOP – Paint a Crane with Sumi Ink with Lauris Phillips – November 7, 2026

DATE:  Saturday, November 7, 2026

TIME:   9 AM to noon

LOCATION:  Upstairs Art Classroom, Hutchins Street Square – Lodi, CA

WORKSHOP FEE: $55.00 per person                     Limited to 12 participants

In celebration of the Sandhill Cranes returning to the Central Valley for winter, Lauris Phillips is offering a workshop where students will learn to paint a crane with sumi ink.  Instruction will be based on Japanese Master Hokusai’s technique of painting cranes.  Well known for his Great Wave, Hokusai was a famous teacher in his day and made many “how to” manuals on drawing with a brush.  In one from 1823, he showed how to paint a crane with a single stroke of sumi ink.  The art of Sumi-e, or ink painting, is simple, relaxing and elegant.  In this workshop we will grind our own sumi ink in the traditional way and learn to paint a crane with a bamboo-handled brush on “rice” paper.  We will start by painting from Hokusai’s instructional paintings and move into painting from crane photos in the same style. The instructor will supply all materials.  Students 14 years old and above with all levels of experience are welcome.  Limited to 12 students, with a workshop fee of $55.

Lauris Phillips was the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival Featured Artist in 2019.  In 2025 she received the People’s Choice and 2nd place in Fine Art at the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival Art Show.  She has been painting birds, botany, and landscapes with sumi for 20 years. Her work is grounded in both Zen practice and a passion for the natural world.  She has worked as a volunteer with nesting Greater Sandhill Cranes at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge in Alturas, California since 2016.